We all have that one point in our lives where we fall in love, tend to rush things and then all we could end up are ashes from all the burning passion. This is what clearly Fall Out Boy’s song “Fourth of July” tells. This song is the 8th track in their sixth album “American Beauty/American Psycho.
It opens with powerful lines with Patrick Stump’s stupendous vocals and the virtuous roaring and beats of the guitars and drums.
“It was the fourth of July, you and I were fireworks that went off too soon”
Understanding these lines I could say that it pertains to a love at the wrong time and the ever present circumstances that surround a supposed-to-be love story. The persona compares metaphorically their relationship to fireworks “that went off too soon?” What else could this mean? Well, more often than not, the meaning of this song tells us that the love was rushed and hurried, probably because two persons were consumed by their intense feelings and then the love left them a disastrous past. This song can best relate to those who keep on looking back at a failed relationship with the anticipation and expectation that maybe things will work out again for the both of them.
“You are my favorite ‘what if’ you are my best ‘I'll never know’”
I think this line struck me the most because a failed love story has many “what ifs.” It is full of flashbacks from the past, making a person overthink thinks such as “What if I never did that? or “What if I never let you go?”. It also tugs the feelings of listeners who are confused of what may happen in the future in store for them. It is also supported by the line “May the bridges I have burned light my way back home.” “Burning bridges” is a figurative language which means to cut off relationships but Fall Out Boy creatively creates a new definition for this for the persona wanted to cut off the ties but still hopes for a chance of going back together.
People may view Fall Out Boy as a band who only creates loud music but if they only take the time to fall in love with their other songs which tell stories about lost love, about distant dreams and about loneliness rockstars could feel too.
Listen to Fall Out Boy’s “Fourth of July” and remember your numerous “what ifs” and contemplate about your “between being young and being right” days.
